Barfly describes itself as Basel's hidden gem, a gin bar that opened in February 2015 and has grown its collection past 338 gins, which it calls the largest selection in town. Guests who cannot choose are steered to a gin tasting board, four gins and a tonic, and there are single malts, beers and premium soft drinks for anyone not in the mood for a mixed drink. Open Tuesday to Saturday from five, in the St. Johann quarter.
A bar and kitchen in the Gundeldingen quarter, in a converted works building on Dornacherstrasse. It runs themed evenings and set menus alongside the drinks, so the room works as a restaurant and a bar on the same night.
A modern cocktail bar on Clarastrasse that is also a neighbourhood room, somewhere to end a day or start a night. From the counter you can see the copper still through the window, which tells you what the house cares about.
Renée calls itself a bar and live venue, and lists what it is for in five words: champagne, music, drinks, wine, food. It sits on Klingental behind the barracks in Kleinbasel and runs a Culture Club programme of DJ nights, seventies art rock and soul one night, synth the next, with the bar open until three on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and until midnight the rest of the week.
A cocktail bar on Steinenbachgaesslein, in the lanes behind the Steinenvorstadt. Closed since 1 June 2026 while the building is renovated and the bar takes the chance to refit; the house says it expects to reopen.
These are the cocktail bars specifically. The full Basel guide ranks the best bars of every style, and the directory lists all 7 with a map and filters.
Best bars in Basel